The Holy See and leaders of the Catholic Church in the U.S. are concerned about Obamas positions on ethical issues

The Vatican joined other States in sending its customary congratulations to the winner of the U.S. presidential elections. But there is no doubt that high profile American figures in the Holy See would have preferred Mitt Romney to win. President Obama has been an ally of the Holy See in areas such as social justice, international solidarity and dialogue with the Muslim world. But differences remain over abortion and bioethics.

Benedict XVI had met the new U.S. president in the Vatican on 10 July 2008 at the end of the G8 summit in the Italian city of LAquila. Obama and Catholic leaders have grown further apart over the past year: the archbishop of Baltimore, William E. Lori, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Freedom fought hard against the healthcare reform the White House was eager to pass. He spoke out against a return to the old anti-Catholic tradition in the U.S. and defined articles forcing Church institutions to finance their employees abortions and contraception as a threat to religious freedom.

So although the Vatican Secretariat of States official stance was of course neutral, some key Curia representatives hoped that Obama would not secure a second term. Raymond Leo Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signature (the Holy Sees Supreme Court) was the first among them. As Archbishop of St. Luis in 2004, he stated that pro-choice politicians such as John Kerry should be denied communion and that those who voted for him were also in serious danger. Shortly after taking up his post in the Vatican in 2008, he also said that under Obamas leadership, the Democratic Party risked being definitively transformed into a death party.

The Church should have taken to every pulpit and told the flock in clear, unequivocal language that a vote to re-elect Obama was equivalent to a mortal sin.

Instead they put out mushy, nuanced messages, hoping to not offend Hispanics and union hacks who put in to the collection baskets.

Now their Emily Litella moment is here. I suspect they will take Obama’s fig leaf that the insurance companies are really paying and decide that they can live with that, just as they have been doing in Europe for over four decades.

Memo to Pope: If you want to stay relevant, grow a spine and start doing some high profile excommunications. Make it a big PR splash. Start with Pelosi and Kerry. Throw in a Tom Ridge and Rudy Giuliani to be fair and balanced. Doing it indirectly through bishops isn't effective enough.

Chances are, showing strength and resolve on the sanctity of life will increase net support in the Vatican's moral authority.

‘Instead they put out mushy, nuanced messages, hoping to not offend Hispanics and union hacks who put in to the collection baskets.’

That is correct in the mushy message, but a close look at the collections show that MOST of the union government Bureaucrats that show up for Easter and Christmas festivities give less than $100. on average PER YEAR.

At the Parochial school my children attend, the MAJORIY of the parents give LESS THAN $100 per year. MOST come from households making $100K per year or more as they are Police, Firemen, teachers and their spouse is also employed.

The fact is that since Vatican II the Church has done a very poor job of instructing the flock in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. MOST Catholics DO NOT GO TO CHURCH. Most have NEVER HEARD why it is immoral to practice un natural birth control methods. They DO NOT understand WHY homosexual acts are a mortal sin. ALL they hear about is that God is ALL loving. How than can their be a Hell? How then can their be a Devil? So as far as they are concerned, there isn't intrinsic evil, there isn't a Devil, there are no consequences for their actions and Hell doesn't exist, and God probably doesn't either.

9
posted on 11/08/2012 9:17:17 AM PST
by Jim from C-Town
(The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)

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